Tomorrow and Thereafter (2017)

Mathilde is nine. Her parents have separated and she lives alone with her mother - a fragile woman on the brink of madness - with whom she shares a unique love story.

Director:

Noémie Lvovsky

Writers:

Noémie Lvovsky (scenario), Florence Seyvos (scenario)

Stars:

Luce Rodriguez, Noémie Lvovsky, Mathieu Amalric

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Luce Rodriguez	...	Mathilde Zasinger
Noémie Lvovsky	...	Mme Zasinger, la mère
Mathieu Amalric	...	Le père
Micha Lescot	...	La chouette (voice)
Anaïs Demoustier	...	Mathilde adulte
Elsa Amiel	...	Madame Escoffier - l'institutrice
India Hair	...	La psychologue scolaire
Julie-Marie Parmentier	...	Madame Lesieur
Francis Leplay	...	Monsieur Lesieur
Lydie Ledoeuff	...	La chef de gare
Camille Rousselet	...	La vendeuse de robes de mariées
Rym Hachmi	...	La future mariée
Maxence Tual	...	Le gardien de l'école
Roxane Lebel-Davion	...	Elève
Axelle Philippot	...	Elève

Storyline

Mathilde Zasinger, nine years old, living in Paris, is a little girl like who would be like all others if she did not have a mother suffering from mental disorder. Madame Zasinger is a loving mother but her behavior is unfortunately erratic and unpredictable. She does strange things like wandering at night in a wedding dress or take the train all the way to Normandy not knowing why. The best thing she has ever done is to have given Mathilde a wonderful present, an owl which the faculty of speech. From the day the bird entered her life, the troubled little girl has had a friend and confidante that helps her bear the situation as best as she can.

---

Plot Keywords:

f rated | mother daughter relationship | madness | slow motion | slow motion scene | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

The production was halted halfway through because lead actress Luce Rodriguez stepped down for health reasons. The project was saved by adding the adulthood of the protagonist, now played by Anaïs Demoustier.

---

Soundtracks

Le Sommeil
from "La Courte Paille"
Written by Francis Poulenc

User Reviews

Chouette.

From the first scene on, we feel something is wrong ;a mother and her daughter meet the headmistress of the school ;the teacher complains that Mathilde has no friends ;but it's the mother's attitude which puzzles the viewer : she worries about her syntax errors ;worse, when the meeting is over,she will not remember what she came here for .

Suffering from mental disorder which recalls Alzeihmer's desease, the mother seems more and more irrational: buying an owl as a pet is not common;besides,the "removal" and the train she takes to go nowhere make us think ,that ,little by little , mother and daughter reverse the roles .

The owl can speak : but it may well be the little girl ,left to her own devices ,talking with herself ;Mathilde is a clever mature girl (that's what the teacher says) and she has to face her mom's mental disorder and the dad's absence :he has deserted the house for some time .As he is completely sane and seems to have a steady job (he speaks of his patients) ,we can wonder why it took him so much time to comprehend why he had to take in his own daughter.

The director (who also plays the thankless part of the mother) films the owl with virtuosity :she really makes us FEEL how this confident becomes more and more important to the lonesome girl ;the bird does stare at you ,he seems to be everywhere in the room without a single special effect . It might remind you of Kenneth Loach's "Kes " (a boy ill-treated by his family whose friend is a hawk) ,but it's more dreamlike ,closer to a fable than to social drama .

The owl is a night bird ,who lives in the forest where the fairy tales mom and girl tell each other at night take place;a bird you do not see in the daylight , the ideal pet for someone who has something to conceal ;when his work is over,he will fly away ...

This is a disconcerting movie:not from the children's market ,in spite of the subject, it has not really found an audience among the grown-ups either.But on the French scene ,give it a chance: it goes off the beaten track.

Minor quibble :why do FRENCH directors always choose songs in ENGLISH? "Oh my mama " fits the movie like a glove ,but why not a French version? (or at least subtitles); and why "winter wonderland" ,a carol which is not part of the French culture at all? why not "Petit Papa Noel " ,huh?

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

27 September 2017 (France)

Also Known As:

Amanhã e Todos os Outros Dias

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

EUR7,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$242,189

Company Credits

Production Co:

F Comme Film, Gaumont, France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (as Dolby 5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1